Soldiers first volunteered at the squadron’s headquarters building where, 1st Lt. Danielle Salley, a fire support officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, Steel Squadron and organizer of the event, stood by with the sign-up roster.

“All the blood that is donated today is going forward to deployed Soldiers,” Salley said.

With Soldiers from the regiment recently deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, Salley said Steel Squadron leaders wanted to do something that would help the troopers who are forward as well as bring together the troopers and Families who are waiting for their loved ones to return home.

“Whether it’s sending care packages or donating blood, it’s whatever you can do to help support the fight,” Salley said. “We are our own resources for blood donated, so why not give to our brothers and sisters in arms.”

As the blood donor recruiter for RBC, David Conrad said he is always happy to help units who want to host blood drives.

“One of the biggest challenges we have here on post is the high deployment schedule,” Conrad said. “It makes it difficult for folks to donate, so we really encourage Family Readiness Groups, the rear-detachment commanders, or anybody else who is interested in donating blood to contact us to set up the drives.”

Conrad said, “We work with the Armed Services Blood Program, and so we are the sole source of blood for the military.”

Donor Staff Sgt. Joshua Mubarak, a fire support noncommissioned officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, said he was more than happy to help with the blood drive and that he was no stranger to giving blood.

“It’s something I do whenever they ask for donations,” Mubarak said. “It’s just something positive I can do to help my brothers and sisters who are deployed.”

As the blood drive ended, Salley said she was pleased with the turnout and that another blood drive was definitely in the squadron’s near future.

“This is important because it’s supporting each other,” Salley said. “One team, one fight.”

Units, Family Readiness Groups and other organizations interested in hosting blood drives can schedule them at the Robertson Blood Center or call 285-5808. Interested parties can also email the donor recruiter David Conrad at david.m.conrad4.civ@mail.mil or by sending a message through RBC’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/FtHoodRBC.